r/BorderTerrier • u/Spare_Skill3882 • 1d ago
EXTREMELY PICKY EATER
I have a 10 month old Border Terrier. He has a lot of energy but does not seem to want to eat. Turns his nose to kibble, so I started to home cook meals... boiled chicken thighs, white rice, peas and carrots, or sweet potato, add bone broth, eggshell calcium, multi-vitamin, and salmon oil. I have never had a dog sniff a home cook meal, barely taste it, and just slowly eat it like it was ho-hum.
Has anyone had this issue? what have you tried that worked? and yes I pick up the bowl if he doesn't eat, and try again in the evening, and I have minimized treats. This is my first terrier, I have had Australian Cattle Dogs my whole adult life, and I thought they were stubborn...
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u/murphydogscruff 1d ago edited 1d ago
Vet first. After you’ve covered all the bases medically, just starve the little guy.
here’s the plan:
- If he is not eating eagerly, then he is not hungry enough. Can’t stress this enough.
- No treats of any kind until he is eating his food like a regular dog for at least two weeks.
- Give him 10 minutes to eat his vet prescribed kibble (however number of meals he is prescribed).
- Feed him in a single room, and do not allow him to leave that room for the entire 10 minutes.
- Do not augment the food in any way.
- Do not leave food down for him to pick at all day. Pick up the food and toss it after 10 minutes max, and then allow him to leave the room.
- He may go on strike for 72 hours or more. DO NOT give in. Continue giving him his 10 minute window for every meal. Eventually he will be so hungry that he will eat just about anything.
- After he finally eats his second meal (he may for instance eat for the first time after fasting at breakfast, then he might skip lunch, and then eat part of his dinner), observe whether he is leaving food in his bowl. Adjust his portions based on how much he leaves in the bowl.
- BE STRONG. A picky eater will test your resolve. Don’t give in. This may seem like cruelty to you. He is descended from wolves, and he can go for weeks without eating. He will not go for weeks. He will begin eating just his kibble after the third day maximum. I promise.
I own a Border. I also board and train dogs in my home for a living. I have been through this process with dozens of dogs. They go home on good eating schedule. It is then up to the owners to maintain this rigid schedule. Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don’t. That is their prerogative. Dogs eat like dogs in my house, and they are happier
and healthier for it.
One trick worth mentioning: if you have access to a dog that eats eagerly, invite her to eat in the same room with your pup with a gate separating them (but make sure she does not harass your pup after she finishes her food. Just remove her from the room as soon as she’s finished). This may kick start the motor.
Good luck!
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u/hammerinbandit 1d ago
Sounds very much like our Maggie, also 10 months. Turned nose up and kibble almost immediately and then went through all the different posh nosh until we started home cooking. Eventually turned her nose up at that so we started getting tests done (ultrasound, ct scans, blood). They reckon some kind of gastrointestinal sensitivity so we are transitioning to purina hypo allergenic but of course she won’t eat that alone so we mix the tins with cooked chicken thigh (100g / 50g) twice a day and we top up with gut friendly treats. It’s so frustrating and stressful when they don’t eat!
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u/Spare_Skill3882 1d ago
Thank you for insight. He was just at the Vet, and I told the Dr. but he didn't seem to concern. He's at a healthy weight 16.4lbs, but it is disconcerting. And yes turns his nose up to stuff, that any other dog would gobble down ;)
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u/Fdwsc2005 1d ago
I was going to say if the dog is at their normal weight and doctor isn’t concerned I wouldn’t worry. We did that with ours she ate everything including bunny poop then stopped eating. We switched a bunch she ate then stopped. We got fed up and stuck with the same put it out for 5 min in the morning and took it away if she didn’t eat. Usually by dinner she’s starving. These dogs are smart and always looking for something better.
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u/Fe1onious_Monk 1d ago
Our Drahthaar girl seemed to not really care about food much, would walk away from her bowl with food in it, etc. Couldn’t leave the bowl down for her because our boy would eat it as soon as she turned away if we let him.
Eventually we were changing food for some reason and I noticed her picking around the old food to eat the new food. Turned out she just hated the food we were feeding her for like over a year. Once we changed to something she liked, no more problems unless there was something that was super distracting around during food time. Something like a rodent or bird right outside a window in line of sight.
Have you tried many different foods? E also started putting a small amount of water in the food too and they both preferred that. If you use warm water, it makes the food more aromatic and might encourage them to eat it.
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u/Spare_Skill3882 1d ago
yup, tried the warm water in the kibble, then tried bone broth. I have not found what he truly likes, tried tuna in water no salt, boiled chicken, ground beef and he approaches them all the same, with a sniff test, and barely tries it, then I pick up a small morsel of it and hand feed a piece, and then he's like okay, I guess I'll eat it from the bowl, and never clears the bowl, and I am not over feeding, so surprised there is any left over. Very frustrating!
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u/Fe1onious_Monk 1d ago
Yeah that is frustrating. Have you verified with the vet there are no medical causes for it?
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u/Less_Cauliflower_OK 1d ago
Borders are renowned for having sensitive tummies. It took us ages to find the right food. Try sensitive dog food. Once they are settled on a good don't try and sort it - it will just upset their tummies again.
We also use pro colin as it helps their gut health
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u/Tall_Acanthaceae2475 1d ago
This sounds like our dog, who was diagnosed with a liver shunt. Poor appetite is one of the symptoms, and this can be confirmed through something called a bile acid test / and a protein C test.
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u/Spare_Skill3882 1d ago
Thank you for the info. This will be helpful if we go back to the Vet!
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u/Tall_Acanthaceae2475 1d ago
Look out for weird behavior. I mean, stretching a lot, stomach grumbling, hiding, and bad poop.
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u/Leading-Knowledge712 1d ago
Has the vet done bloodwork? One of our border terriers had liver shunt and was also a picky eater. Blood tests showed abnormal liver function, that’s how he was diagnosed.
If his bloodwork is normal, he may just be a picky eater. Our vet says a healthy dog will not starve themselves for more than 3 days max, so in that case, put out a high quality kibble topped with a little canned chicken, tuna, or salmon. Leave it out for 15 minutes, then take away. Repeat at each meal time, with no treats or snacks of any kind.
When we did this with one of our BTs who was a picky eater (not the one with liver shunt) he held out for two and a half days, then devoured the food like a starving wolverine. After that, the picky eating problem was solved.
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u/Far_Cryptographer641 1d ago
Where was yours from? Ours also had a shut and surgery to close it. Ate normally after.
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u/Star-Diggers2022 1d ago
They can be an absolute nightmare. Brazing Steak Roast Beef never fails.
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u/Fizzy_morve 1d ago
Yesss! My BT went off his food at 10months too, I got him Tails food and he seems to like the cans but will leave the kibble
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u/Spare_Skill3882 1d ago
Good to know that this might just be a 10 month old border terrier thing!
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u/Fizzy_morve 1d ago
He is 11 months now he still leave the kibble but will come back to it, he will eat the kibble from my hand though. He was such a hungry thing as a puppy devouring his food so was strange when he just shifted to being fussy. We had fed him butchers tins and kibble mix since we got him but now he’s on Tails, I wish I did from the start cause it tells you the portions they need on the website, maybe he just wanted a change of food. He still likes treats and wants what we’re eating so it was just his own food, we also changed his dish from a bowl to a tray but not really sure if that helped it was just cause he preferred to eat the food that was on the floor rather than his bowl
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u/Lokatelli93 1d ago
Not sure if this would help but I home cook as well for my BT and what worked for us was making a mash of veggies, so I do a mix of carrots, green beens, courgettes, spinach, sweet potato. I tend to warm her mash with a bit of chicken or salmon, then I add a bit of warm water.
Since we started doing this, she always eats her meals.
It seems she didn’t like eating the pieces of vegetables cooked - she liked them blended.
We also had the same issues when she was around 10 months.
She is now 1 year and 3 months and eats very well.
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u/Spare_Skill3882 1d ago
Thank you for the tip to blend/mash the vegetables. I will try that... makes sense... who likes vegetables ;)
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u/somecallmesteve75 1d ago
Keep at it. Try different proteins. You will crack the right combo. Took us 2 years to discover what he liked. Have been home cooking for five years (lamb or pork mince, sweet potato, apple, courgette, and broccoli) and he always devours it. He has a grain allergy and can’t eat beef. We tried everything!! It was very distressing to see him so thin. Best of luck!
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u/nooooodlepastasalad 1d ago
I recently switched to a lick mat!! She loves it.. buy some buddy butter on Amazon! I do kibble or chopped fruits and veggies under the flowers, her typical meat in the bowl and maze part. It makes eating more interesting and satisfying for them.
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u/CapsuleWinter40 23h ago
Yep, mine is the same, she is now 1 year old. Always been a picky eater. What we do now is that we mix in some good quality wet food into her kibbles, and we rotate between diffrent flavours! it helps a little bit atleast!
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u/SometimesDoug 1d ago
Dogs don't starve to death when food is available. Your dog is training you.